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WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is a "failure" and predicts it "will not succeed — it just won't."

The potential 2016 presidential candidate says the leaders of both political parties, including Obama, are to blame for a 16-day partial federal government shutdown in October. He says the effort by some Republicans to defund the so-called Obamacare law by shutting down the government failed and "absolutists" from both parties hurt the process.

But Christie avoided addressing a question on how to fix the law, saying it was a complex issue that required a robust debate.

Christie was interviewed Monday during a forum sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. He is scheduled to take over the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association later this week.